[Reader-list] Fwd: In Valley, gunmen take to moral policing: ‘enforce hijab in college’

[Murali V]

This what I am trying to communicate, that conveniently the
pseudo-seculars ignore such actions of minority institutions and
highlight the actions of the hindu outfits.

Regards,
V Murali

On Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 10:37 AM, Rohan DSouza<virtuallyme at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear Murali,
>
> That too surely. The church (of different denominations), especially in the
> context of religious institutions (as you refer to), is by no means tolerant
> and part of the same fundamentalist continuum. I referred to the Mangalore
> article as it is in the news now and has some similarity to the moral
> policing incident in Kashmir.
>
> Rgds,
> Rohan
>
> On Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 9:26 AM, Murali V <murali.chalam at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Dear Rohan,
>>
>> What about ban on wearing sindur by girls in christian schools and
>> wearing of black shawl during the fasting period prior to sabarimala
>> pilgrimage by some missionary christian schools.
>>
>> Regards,
>> V Murali
>>
>> On Fri, Aug 28, 2009 at 4:34 PM, Rohan DSouza<virtuallyme at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> > Dear Murali,
>> > Moral policing in the name of exclusive and regressive notions of
>> > culture
>> > seem to be one thing that binds fundamentalist groups of different
>> > religious
>> > persuasions across the country. Check out this article in Tehelka (
>> > http://tehelka.com/story_main42.asp?filename=Ne290809i_asked.asp)
>> > which talks about a burkha ban being enforced by the Sangh Parivar in
>> > Mangalore. There have been a few newspaper articles and this article
>> > which
>> > talks about this issue.
>> >
>> > Attempts to control practices, lifestyles and the very lives of people
>> > through such means seem to manifest themselves in such controlling
>> > behaviour, be it a burkha enforcement in Kashmir or a burkha ban in
>> > Mangalore. Both sides of the same coin?
>> >
>> > Regards,
>> > Rohan
>> >
>> > The full article:
>> >
>> > *‘I Asked Them To Give Me A Saffron Shawl’*
>> >
>> > *The ABVP and Bajrang Dal are aggressively enforcing a burka ban in
>> > colleges
>> > in Karnataka’s Dakshin Kannada district, reports**SANJANA*
>> > [image: image]*Scarf knot* The ban is forcing students in burkas to
>> > worry
>> > about their safety
>> > *Photos:* S RADHAKRISHNA
>> >
>> > IN JUNE this year, President Nicolas Sarkozy denounced the burka, the
>> > traditional women’s garment that Muslim women adopt to cover themselves
>> > from
>> > head to toe, calling it “a sign of subservience” which “would not be
>> > welcome
>> > in the French Republic.” Unmindful of protests from Muslims worldwide,
>> > the
>> > French National Assembly instituted a commission of inquiry the very
>> > next
>> > day to decide if women should be allowed to wear the burka publicly in
>> > France.
>> >
>> > More than 8,000 kilometres away, across continents and countries, Muslim
>> > women in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district have already been handed
>> > such
>> > a diktat. Women wearing burkas — or even headscarves for that matter
>> > —will
>> > not be allowed into college classrooms and campuses in the region, state
>> > the
>> > Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a students’ organisation and
>> > the
>> > youth wing of the Bajrang Dal. Both the ABVP and the Bajrang Dal are
>> > affiliated with the BJP, which is in power in the state. Though there is
>> > no
>> > legal backing for the ban, the decree has been enforced by government
>> > and
>> > government- aided colleges in the region. Since March 2009, the ban has
>> > applied universally to students and lecturers and has been aggressively
>> > enforced across colleges. Those daring to disobey have been suspended,
>> > asked
>> > to leave college and threatened with physical violence.
>> >
>> > Says Aysha Ashmin, an 18-year-old student from Bantwal in Dakshina
>> > Kannada
>> > district, “Initially, Muslim women were asked to remove their burkas
>> > before
>> > entering class rooms. A month later, this was extended slightly – no
>> > burkas
>> > in college campuses they said. So women hurriedly changed out of these
>> > either at the gate or in the ladies room as soon as we entered colleges.
>> > Now, they are asking us to remove our head scarves before entering
>> > classrooms.” This is a stricture that Aysha experienced first hand.
>> > Within
>> > days of enrolling in the BCom course at the Sri Venkataramana Swamy
>> > Degree
>> > College in Bantwal, Aysha stopped wearing her burka in classrooms. Her
>> > classmates insisted she do so, saying it would only single her out for
>> > attention since Muslim students wearing the burka were rare on campus.
>> > It
>> > didn’t take much persuasion, as she wanted to fit in and make friends in
>> > her
>> > new college. In any case, she told herself, she had her headscarf on. A
>> > few
>> > weeks later, the newly elected president of the college student’s union
>> > began targeting Aysha for wearing the headscarf. “The president and some
>> > other union members would follow me everywhere and ridicule me for
>> > wearing a
>> > headscarf. They claimed my headscarf was unnecessarily escalating
>> > tensions
>> > within the college, that if I insisted on wearing it, they would be
>> > forced
>> > to wear saffron shawls. When the jibes turned into physical attacks, I
>> > asked
>> > them to hand me the saffron shawl – I would wear that and my scarf,”
>> > said
>> > Aysha.
>> > Students who refused to wear the headscarves were asked to leave the
>> > class
>> >
>> > Days later, Aysha was summoned by the principal and asked to stop
>> > wearing
>> > the headscarf. With Aysha was Azramma, the only other Muslim student who
>> > wore one on campus. When both students refused to remove their scarves
>> > citing religious beliefs and personal discomfort within the slightly
>> > hostile
>> > coeducational environment, they were asked to return the next day with
>> > their
>> > parents. In the meeting on August 7, the girls and their parents were
>> > bluntly told that if they refused to comply with the ban, they would be
>> > suspended and subsequently removed from college. While Azramma
>> > acquiesced,
>> > Aysha did not relent. Her father, Mahmood P was shocked at the rude
>> > behaviour of the lecturers who asked his daughter to either chose
>> > religion
>> > or education, arguing that here was no space for both on campus. “My
>> > daughter was told that nobody would look at her even if she removed her
>> > scarf since there were far more beautiful girls on campus! And this was
>> > the
>> > least vulgar thing they said. Along with the principal, there were
>> > senior
>> > lecturers and heads of departments present at the meeting. Even though I
>> > asked them to give me the reason for suspension in writing, they turned
>> > us
>> > away,” says an exasperated Mahmood. Aysha’s suspension has meant a loss
>> > of
>> > the Rs 7,000 her family has paid as annual fees. Besides, if her appeals
>> > to
>> > Mangalore University’s Vice- Chancellor fail, she is likely to lose an
>> > academic year. “Admissions have closed everywhere but I will continue to
>> > fight. Education is my right, just as practising my faith is,” says a
>> > determined Aysha.
>> > ‘THE PRESIDENT AND UNION MEMBERS WOULD FOLLOW ME AND RIDICULE ME FOR
>> > WEARING
>> > A HEADSCARF’
>> > *AYSHA ASHMIN, **Student*
>> >
>> > There are several others who do not share Aysha’s ample courage. A
>> > lecturer
>> > at the same college, Mumtaz, chose to leave after having worked for 15
>> > days.
>> > Afraid even to reveal her last name, Mumtaz was accosted by a fellow
>> > lecturer for wearing the headscarf. “He asked me, ‘If we insist on
>> > following
>> > our religious practices within educational institutions, what would
>> > happen
>> > if Digambar Jains decided to do the same and turn up naked?’ We were
>> > apparently guilty of violating the social order,” says Mumtaz. A
>> > resignation
>> > letter she wrote spelling out these reasons was refused by the college
>> > management.
>> >
>> > When TEHELKA contacted Seetaram Mayya, the college principal, all he
>> > would
>> > admit to was pressure from various Hindutva organisations to enforce the
>> > ban
>> > against headscarves. Though there were no names of organizations or
>> > people
>> > forthcoming, Mayya admitted to the presence of members from these
>> > organisations within the college as well.
>> > [image: image]
>> >
>> > THE SITUATION in the Bantwal College resonates right across the
>> > district. On
>> > August 17, in Uppinangady, 55 kilometres from Mangalore, all 82 Muslim
>> > women
>> > enrolled into the Government Degree College there were upbraided for
>> > wearing
>> > headscarves. Days after Sujith KS, an ABVP member won the college
>> > student
>> > union elections, the Muslim women were summoned by Principal Vasanta
>> > Kumari
>> > and asked to stop wearing headscarves within classrooms. Ten students
>> > who
>> > steadfastly refused to do so were asked to leave the classrooms
>> > immediately.
>> > Two final year students — both boys — who intervened and defended the
>> > women’s religious rights to wear headscarves were suspended by the
>> > college
>> > principal. In the evening, when parents accompanied by a lawyer went to
>> > the
>> > principal’s house to discuss the matter, they were turned away. Mohammed
>> > Rafique, a local resident and activist with the People’s Front of India
>> > (a
>> > Muslim organization active in the area) told TEHELKA, “The principal
>> > turned
>> > us away, saying there was nothing she could do. We tried to tell her
>> > that
>> > Muslim women had attended the college wearing burkas for 25 years. It
>> > was of
>> > no use.”
>> > Mumtaz was accosted by a fellow lecturer for wearing the headscarf. She
>> > left
>> > after 15 days
>> >
>> > The following day, the situation in the college grew worse. Following an
>> > expression of fear by the college principal, police *bandobast* was
>> > arranged. The ten students continued to be locked out of their classes
>> > and
>> > the rest were made to remove their headscarves. Despite repeated
>> > attempts by
>> > TEHELKA, the college management refused to discuss the legality of their
>> > headscarf ban. A college official who refused to identify himself
>> > boasted,
>> > “It is an internal matter. We will handle it ourselves. We don’t have to
>> > explain anything to anybody.”
>> >
>> > INTERESTINGLY, THE ban on Muslim students wearing burkas and head
>> > scarves
>> > has spread to Christian missionary colleges as well. Students of St.
>> > Agnes
>> > College, St. Anne’s College and St. Aloysius College in Mangalore speak
>> > quietly of the authorities asking them to stop wearing burkas and
>> > headscarves. Confirming this as official policy, Dr. (Sr.) Prem D’Souza
>> > told
>> > TEHELKA that while they respect all religions and faiths, they couldn’t
>> > accept headscarves as an expression of faith or as a religious choice
>> > for
>> > Muslim women. “We don’t allow this since there is no uniformity – some
>> > women
>> > wear the headscarf while others don’t. Ultimately, we want to ensure
>> > that
>> > they do not face any discrimination. Wearing the scarf will single them
>> > out,” explained Dr. D’Souza. When queried why nuns could continue to
>> > wear
>> > habits and wimples and not fall foul of the headscarf ban, she said
>> > merely
>> > that they belonged to a different category.
>> > ‘WHY SHOULD MUSLIMS BE ALLOWED TO EXPRESS THEIR IDENTITY?’
>> > *SHAILESH SHETTY,*
>> > *ABVP representative*
>> >
>> > Since March 2009, there have been six incidents of colleges in Dakshin
>> > Kannada district banning headscarves and burkas – a number dismissed as
>> > insignificant by several people including ABVP student representative
>> > Shailesh Shetty. Shetty, the outgoing president of the student union at
>> > University College, Mangalore, claimed that in the next month every
>> > single
>> > college in the district would follow the same rule. “This is a programme
>> > that we have taken seriously. Any union that has AVBP representation
>> > will
>> > make sure that it will be an issue for the college authorities to
>> > address.
>> > Why should Muslims be allowed to express their identity? They should
>> > remember which country they are living in,” said Shetty, deadpan. If
>> > Shetty’s claims are anywhere close to the truth, the road ahead promises
>> > to
>> > be hard for Muslim women in the district’s colleges. The alternative —
>> > one
>> > that comes with the promise of further marginalisation — is to shift to
>> > colleges that are either run by Muslim educational trusts or ones that
>> > specialise in Islamic studies. Both spell disaster, says Hasnath Mansur,
>> > the
>> > former member of the Karnataka State Minorities Commission and principal
>> > of
>> > Abbas Khan college for women. “Why should women sacrifice education for
>> > what
>> > is a minor point? As long as they keep their heads covered — even with*
>> > dupattas* — they will comply with religious and cultural customs.”
>> >
>> > Eclipsed in the ongoing theatre of coercion is the debate raised in
>> > France’s
>> > parliament houses and in seminars organised by women’s rights
>> > organisations
>> > everywhere. Is a burka or a head scarf a symbol of oppression for Muslim
>> > women? Does freedom of choice really exist? Mansur minces no words: “The
>> > current move by the Hindutva forces clearly takes us outside the ambit
>> > of
>> > that discussion. This perverse move is aimed at denying women education
>> > and
>> > stigmatising an entire community. Why is the government not withdrawing
>> > aid
>> > and recognition from institutions that are fostering hatred and
>> > divisiveness?”
>> >
>> >
>> > Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:15:24 +0530
>> >> From: Murali V <murali.chalam at gmail.com>
>> >> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fwd: In Valley, gunmen take to moral
>> >>        policing: ‘enforce hijab in college’
>> >> To: anupam chakravartty <c.anupam at gmail.com>
>> >> Cc: sarai list <reader-list at sarai.net>
>> >> Message-ID:
>> >>        <4eab87870908280145u4b2e8eb2j8f455a457a949792 at mail.gmail.com>
>> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
>> >>
>> >> You can atleast refer to any online references to such dress codes
>> >> imposings.
>> >>
>> >> Regards,
>> >> V Murali
>> >>
>> >>
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